Movable shower head and soap tray assembly

ABSTRACT

A movable shower head and soap tray assembly having an elongated rod adapted to be mounted on the wall of a shower. A holder for a shower head is slidably mounted on and frictionally held at any desired position on the rod. The shower head holder has a plurality of recesses for maintaining a removable shower head at a plurality of angles with respect to the vertical. A soap dish is also slidably mounted on and frictionally held at any desired position on the rod.

United States Patent Davis et al.

MOVABLE SHOWER HEAD AND SOAP TRAY ASSEMBLY Inventors: Oliver Thurston Davis; Norman R. Jones, Rt. 1, PO. Box 33, both of Dunlap, Tenn. 37327 Filed: Apr. 26, 1973 Appl. No.2 354,744

US. Cl 4/145, 248/39, 248/75 Int. Cl A47k 3/22 Field of Search 4/145, 148, 149, 158;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 10/1954 France 4/145 Sept. 24, 1974 1,036,819 5/1951 France 4/145 453,378 9/1936 Great Britain.... 248/223 J842,7X3 1/1956 Germany 4/145 1,456,791 9/1966 France 4/145 Primary Examiner-John W. Huckert Assistant Examiner-Milton Gerstein Attorrgzy, Agent, or Firm-J, T, Martin; Ferguson, Gerald 1., Esq.; Joseph J. Baker 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PAIENIED $241914 FIG FIG.2

MOVABLE SHOWER HEAD AND SOAP TRAY t ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION be raised or lowered to a plurality of positions are not new. Such shower heads generally fall into two catagories: those which are slidably mounted on an elongated rod and held in various positions by means of a set screw or those which are slidably mounted in a track and held in various positions by means of friction generated by complex spring biasing means. Theformer type have proved to be unsatisfactory due to the fact that it is very difficult to adjust the position of the shower head when water is running therefrom using one hand to position the head and the other to loosen and tighten the set screw.

The latter types are costly to purchase, expensive in their installation, and have complex spring biasing means for generating friction which eventually succumbs to rusting and other types of corrosion, thus, requiring constant maintenance.

The shower head and soap tray assembly of the present invention eliminates the forementioned deficiencies inherent in the prior art devices by providing a shower head and soap tray which is comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and which can be raised or lowered to any position with one handwhile taking a shower and maintained at that position.

In addition, the shower head can be easily positioned at a plurality of angles with respect to the person taking a shower or can be removed entirely and used in the' hand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The shower head and soap tray of the present invention comprises an elongated rod which is mounted on the wall of a shower stall or bathtub. A support block made of semi-resilient material has a recess therethrough forming a cylindrical-shaped wall having a diameter slightly less than the outside diameter of the elongated rod. The rod is forced into the recess and is held at any position on the rod by means of the friction generated between the wall and the rod. A shower head holder is secured to the support block by means of screws. The shower head holder has a plurality of recesses at various angles with'respect to the rod. A shower head is provided having a flexiblehose for attachment to a source of water. The shower head has an extension at one end thereof which can be inserted in any of the aforementioned recesses to thereby position the shower head at various angles to the person taking a shower. An additional support block is provided similar to the shower head holder support block to which is attached a soap dish. The soap dish can also be raised, lowered, and maintained in any desired position on the rod.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the movable shower head and soap tray assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the shower head holder. FIG. 2A is a plane view of the shower head holder.

FIG. 3 is a plane view of the soap dish. FIG. 3A is a front view of the soap dish.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 where like numerals indicate like parts, the movable shower head and soap tray assembly of the present invention is illustrated as having an elongated chrome plated metal rod 10 which may either be solid or tubular. The metal rod 10 is vertically mounted on a wall 12 and spaced therefrom by means of an upper bracket 14 and a lower bracket 16.

A shower head 18 has a spray nozzle 20 connected to one end thereof and a hose connection 22 at the other end. The hose connection 22 has a finger-like extension member 24 integrally formed therewith, the purpose of which will be more fully described later. A flexible hose 26 is attached at one end to the hose connection 22 and at the other end to a conventional double-valve faucet 28. The faucet 28 has a valve (not shown) in the outlet 32 thereof which is actuated open or closed by means of knob 30 to thereby divert water from the outlet 32 into the flexible hose 26 via outlet connection 34.

FIGS. 2 and 2A show a shower head holder 36 having a mounting bracket 37 which is secured to a spacer block 38 and a support block 40 by means of screws 42. The shower head holder 36 has a plurality of recesses 44 adapted to receive the finger-like extension member 24. The recesses 44 are formed at various angles with respect to the vertical such that the angle of the shower head 18 can be varied depending on which recess 44 the extension member 24 is inserted by the user.

The support block 40 is made of a semi-rigid plasticlike material which is self-lubricating in nature. The block 40 has a recess 46 forming a cylindrical wall 48 extending lengthwise from one outer surface 50 to the opposite outer surface.

The recess 46 has substantially the same diameter as the metal rod 10 or slightly less. The width A of the support block 40 is chosen to be slightly greater than the diameter of the recess 46 such that when the rod 10 is inserted into the recess 46, a slight bulge 52 results adjacent the recess 46. A recess 46 of approximately three-eighths inch diameter, a rod of approximately three-eighths inch diameter and a support block 40 having a width A of approximately one-half inch has proved to be very satisfactory, there being developed just sufficient friction between the wall 48 of recess 46 and the outside surface of rod 10 to enable the support block 40 to be easily moved on the rod 10 and yet remain there.

If additional friction be required to maintain the support block 40 at a desired position, the screws 42 can be tightened down. until the. necessary friction is achieved. As can be seen, tightening of the screws 42 forces the spacer block 38 against the bulge 52 which in turn increases the frictional engagement between the cylindrical wall 48 and the rod 10.

A soap dish 54 having a mounting bracket 55 is also provided as shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A. The bracket 55 is secured to a support block 56 and spacer block 57 by means of screws 58. The support block 56 is identical in construction with support block 40 and functions to maintain the soap dish 54 in the desired position on the rod in the same manner as the support block 40. Similarly, friction between the cylindrical wall 48 and rod 10 can be increased by tightening down on screws 58.

The shower head 18 and soap dish 54 can thus be moved to any vertical position or horizontal direction which is practical for use, the shower head 18 being further capable of being positioned at a plurality of angular positions with respect to the user.

Although we have shown and described a certain embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that we do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An assembly of the character described, the combination comprising:

a. an elongated rod adapted to be mounted on the wall of a shower,

b. a shower head having a flexible hose for connection to a source of water for said shower head,

c. a holder for said shower head, said holder having means for enabling said shower head to be moved to a plurality of positions relative to said holder,

(1. a support block having a recess forming a cylindrical wall therethrough, the diameter of said recess being slightly less than the diameter of said rod to thereby slidably mount and frictionally hold said support block at any desired position relative to said rod, and

e. means for securing said holder to said support block, said means serving to vary the degree of said frictional engagement by controlling the pressure exerted by said holder against said support block.

2. An assembly as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a soap dish slidably mounted and frictionally held at any desired position on said elongated rod.

3. An assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein said soap dish is mounted on a support block by securing means, said support block having a recess forming a cylindrical wall extending therethrough the diameter of said recess being slightly less than the diameter of said elongated rod.

4. An assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein said support block is made of plastic like material.

5. An assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein said cylindrical wall frictionally engages said elongated rod to hold said soap dish at a desired position on said rod and the amount of frictional engagement can be controlled by said securing means.

6. An assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said shower head has an extension on one end thereof and said shower head holder has a plurality of spaced-apart recesses therein such that when said extension is separately positioned in each of said recesses, said shower head is at a different angle with respect to the vertical.

7. An assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said support block is made of plastic-like material. 

1. An assembly of the character described, the combination comprising: a. an elongated rod adapted to be mounted on the wall of a shower, b. a shower head having a flexible hose for connection to a source of water for said shower head, c. a holder for said shower head, said holder having means for enabling said shower head to be moved to a plurality of positions relative to said holder, d. a support block having a recess forming a cylindrical wall therethrough, the diameter of said recess being slightly less than the diameter of said rod to thereby slidably mount and frictionally hold said support block at any desired position relative to said rod, and e. means for securing said holder to said support block, said means serving to vary the degree of said frictional engagement by controlling the pressure exerted by said holder against said support block.
 2. An assembly as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a soap dish slidably mounted and frictionally held at any desired position on said elongated rod.
 3. An assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein said soap dish is mounted on a support block by securing means, said support block having a recess forming a cylindrical wall extending therethrough the diameter of said recess being slightly less than the diameter of said elongated rod.
 4. An assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein said support block is made of plastic like material.
 5. An assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein said cylindrical wall frictionally engages said elongated rod to hold said soap dish at a desired position on said rod and the amount of frictional engagement can be controlled by said securing means.
 6. An assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said shower head has an extension on one end thereof and said shower head holder has a plurality of spaced-apart recesses therein such that when said extension is separately positioned in each of said recesses, said shower head is at a different angle with respect to the vertical.
 7. An assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said support block is made of plastic-like material. 